Behind scenes, Mitt wanted Ryan

Determined to foil reporters tracking flights from Wisconsin to Boston, the Romney campaign booked Paul Ryan on a flight from Chicago to Hartford, Conn., where the 42-year-old lawmaker was picked up in a rented SUV by 19-year-old Curt Myers, son of the aide leading the vice presidential search process.

The casually dressed Ryan — wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and jeans — was driven to the home of the longtime aide, Beth Myers, in suburban Brookline, Mass., six miles from campaign headquarters last Sunday, Aug. 5.

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Mitt Romney and Ryan were left alone in the dining room.

“We talked about the campaign, how we would work together, how the relationship would be, how we would interact and make big decisions,” Romney said. “We talked about our families and the challenges to them.”

More than an hour later, Ryan accepted the offer to become Romney’s running mate.

“By the time we met in person, I kind of knew what was going to happen; I was thrilled; it was the biggest honor,” Ryan said.

Romney left shortly after the meeting to return to his lake home in Wolfeboro, N.H. Before Curt Myers could drive Ryan back to the Hartford airport, news broke of the shooting at the Sikh temple in Ryan’s district — a tragedy that ultimately forced the campaign to reconfigure its rollout.

The stealthy meeting was the climax of a bruising four-month vetting process that started with 20 candidates and ended with three finalists — Ryan, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Friends said Romney became uncharacteristically stressed as he stewed over the final cut as he realized that it would be his sole chance to dramatically affect his campaign’s standing without depending on outside forces.

The former Massachusetts governor sought counsel not only from those inside his campaign but also friends and confidants outside his staff, said Beth Myers, who led the search.

One friend said the decision amounted to Romney taking control of his own campaign: He picked someone he felt comfortable with and who appealed to his intellect and wonkier side — rather than someone who helped with, say, Hispanics or Ohio.

Ryan is 42, the same age as Romney’s oldest son, Tagg, giving the ticket a father-son aura.

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CORRECTION: Corrected by: Naira Ruiz @ 08/12/2012 11:10 AM
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Janna Ryan's name.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled Andy Speth’s last name and the community of Waukegan.